She hooked an arm through his. “My monster.”
He gazed down at her, unsure if he’d ever heard anything more wonderful than being called hers.
“Are you ready to fly?” he asked, turning to her.
“Fly?” she said, confused.
Luc backed away from her until he was at a safe distance and then shifted one last time into his dragon, towering and immortal. Below, he saw Hallie’s eyes go wide in amazement, then delight as she walked up to his leg and ran her hand along the scales there.
“Wow. So this was really you the whole time? Kind of hard to believe,” she exclaimed.
“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to tell you sooner. I—”
“It’s okay.” She interrupted before he could keep babbling. “Let’s go home.”
“Yes. Home,” he said, picking her up gingerly to put her on his neck. “You okay?” he asked. “Hold on to my scales. I’ll make sure you don’t fall.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding nervous but holding on tight.
He let out a roar and then pushed off the ground and headed into the sky, dispersing the once-black rainclouds before them and heading into the clear, blue horizon.
Home couldn’t come fast enough.
18
He flew them back to Zach’s place because there was more cloud cover and then a large amount of land to come down on. Dragons could be invisible as needed, but sometimes, if someone looked in the right spot, they could see something shimmering in the air, so they had to be careful.
He was still reeling from the amount of power he’d wielded today. Unlike the past, where his attack had felt out of control, toxic, terrible, today he’d felt strong, powerful. In the right.
He supposed both sides of him had a purpose, as long as they were used correctly.
There was the healing side, warm and loving and helpful. But if anyone messed with his mate or his people or shifters, there was the other side that could rain (literally) righteous justice on the bad guys.
Hopefully, he would keep learning to understand both.
Hallie at least seemed to accept both sides of him. Though they’d fought, she hadn’t said anything about it since he’d showed up to rescue her.
As they landed, Erin came running out on the lawn, reddish-brown hair flowing out behind her. “Where’s Zach?”
“He’s fine,” Luc said, giving Erin a quick hug of comfort. “He’ll be back soon. Just taking care of clean-up.”
“Zach?” Hallie asked.
“The black dragon you saw,” Luc replied.
Hallie looked from Erin to Luc, and it clicked. “Zach from the shelter? He’s a dragon, too?”
Erin walked forward and folded Hallie in her arms. “Welcome to the dragon family.”
Hallie blinked, and then her gray eyes went warm and she wrapped her arms around Erin. “Thanks for having me.”
Erin led the way back inside, eyeing Luc, who looked a little worse for wear after all the fighting. There were black smudges all over his skin and little tears in his clothing. “You two go ahead and clean up,” Erin said. “I’ll go make something to eat.” She grinned at Hallie. “And congrats on mating.”
Hallie’s expression shuttered slightly but she nodded. “Thank you.”
Luc took his mate by the hand and led her up to his bedroom, not stopping until they were in and he could close the door. He sat on the bed with a huff and pulled her in to stand between his legs. “Finally.”
She looked down at him, her long lashes sultry over her gray eyes. “So are we going to talk, or should I just thank you for saving me and call it a day?”
“We should talk,” he said. “I didn’t explain things well.”
She kept his hand in hers and sat next to him on the bed. Outside the window, rain began falling. “That’s odd.”
He grinned. “Something I just like to do. It’ll probably be raining a lot since I haven’t been able to use it in a long time.”
She stared. “You can make it rain? What else can you do?”
“Mostly that and healing,” he said, leaning back. “And then I have tactical stuff I can do with my ice.”
“Ah,” she said. “I guess I’ll figure it out as we go. It’s all fine with me.”
“Hallie, about me killing people. I need to talk to you about it.”
“Sure,” she said. “But I already figured out I shouldn’t have let Emerald get in my head. I should have known you needed more time to defend yourself, given your propensity to beat yourself up.”
“It happened before I went to sleep,” he said, trying to hurry and get it out before he lost his nerve. “A village was destroyed. Not just any village, one full of people I loved. I don’t think I even let myself acknowledge how much I loved them. I told myself it was just an experiment. To see if dragons could intervene with humans in good ways. Ways that made a difference.”
She listened quietly, attentively. It only made him love her even more.
“One day, I was flying back to see if their crops had enough water, to see if anyone was sick, and everything was ruined. Burned to the ground. Everyone dead.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“Murdered,” he said. “Kids. Women. Innocent people.” He ran his fingers through his hair as she placed a hand on his leg, soothing him. “I went into a rage. I guess that’s when I woke the icy side of me. I found the attackers. I killed them. I didn’t even hesitate. There was too much rage. It was so fast. When it was over, I couldn’t take it.”
“But they were murderers,” she said, rubbing his thigh.
“I know. But I don’t like killing. Zach has helped me understand it may happen, even in this new world where things are supposed to be safer. And I get that now. If I want to intervene, I have to use my strength in multiple ways. But I will always prefer to be a healer.”
“I’m sorry you went through that,” she said quietly, reaching over to take his hand. “And I’m sorry I judged you. I guess ever since you came into my life, it has felt too good to be true. If you were some kind of monster, I guess it would have made more sense why you were with me.”
He tilted her chin up so he could look at her. “Stop it. You’re too good for me. You’re the reason I wanted to be better.” He released her with a sigh, looking back at the window where the rain was abating. “Before that, I just wanted to die. After I killed those people, I was restless. Angry. I fought other humans. Other dragons. I just sort of lost that other part of me. And then I was captured, put on ice. I didn’t even mind when I knew it was going to happen. And when I woke up, I was angry. What was the point?”
He put his arm around her. “But then I met you, struggling with your pain, putting it aside to help others, and you made me want to wake that other side of me again. You made me want to heal and care and love again. You made it easy to love you.”
“I can’t believe you healed me. And Bastien. He looks great.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Wherever we live, I hope we can bring him.”
“Well, I did say if he ever got better, he was yours,” she said.
“And are you okay with that?”
“He’s probably still getting acquainted with my kitties, but I’m sure they’ll work it out,” she said. “There are a lot of things to work out, but it’s worth it.”
“So you forgive me?” he asked. “For mating you, for keeping secrets?”
“Of course,” she said. “And you forgive me for going off?”
“Nothing to forgive,” he said, looking at the ring on her finger. “I was selfish for pushing you into that without fully explaining. I was just caught up in the emotion of it.”
“I understand,” she said.
They just sat there for a moment, resting, enjoying the warmth, and listening to the barely pattering rain outside the window.
Then, without asking, he leaned her back onto the bed and went with her, kissing her passionately.
She stroked his hair, and he wrapped his
fist around some of hers, keeping her close. She moaned as he tilted her head back and kissed her neck, licking his way to her collarbone, grazing the sensitive skin just above her breasts.
“You’re mine,” he said, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head. “Say it.”
“I’m yours,” she said plainly. “I have been from the moment I met you.”
He grinned, flashing a fang, and lowered himself over her.
It was different this time, making love to him.
Each time Hallie felt his touch, it was unique. She hoped there would be a million days like this, experiencing new ways of loving each other’s bodies.
Today he was slow and languorous, taking time to explore with his tongue as his hands traveled her body. He’d let her hands go the moment she’d said she was his.
It felt so right saying it. It was easy giving in to him.
Even after seeing the results of his power in the destroyed compound where she’d been held, she’d felt only awe for him.
And now that she knew more about what he’d been through, she loved him even more.
“You’re everything,” he said. “You’re my entire world.”
She laughed and arched as he placed more kisses up her neck and behind her ear, making her shiver deliciously. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Say you’re mine. I can’t hear it enough. Say you’ll never let anyone else do this but me.”
“I’m yours,” she murmured in his ear, enjoying the way his body tensed as her breath brushed his skin. “No one but you gets to do this with me.”
He sighed in satisfaction and went back to kissing her neck, his hands slowly removing her shirt as he did so. First peeling off the hoodie as she helped get her hands out of it, then sliding off the tank top. She sat up and unhooked her bra, throwing it on the carpet, as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing magnificent abs.
“So hot.” She sighed.
He simply wrapped them together, chest to warm chest, and ran his hands over her shoulders and arms as he kissed her again, just under the ear, and then took her earlobe between his lips, gently biting down.
She arched and gasped, and he quickly pulled off her pants and then raised a hand. He flicked out a blue claw, and she saw the light glint off of it just for a second before he hooked it around her panties and tore them right off.
“I’ve been wanting to do that,” he said. “But I couldn’t until you knew what I was.”
“Pervert,” she muttered.
“Yes,” he said, closing his lips around a nipple. “But only for you.”
“Perfect,” she said, letting out a moan as he moved to her other breast, licking and then biting gently.
His hands were on her thighs now, kneading the skin there as she felt tension building inside her. She was here and spreading her legs for him. There was no one else she wanted this way, but she wanted him badly.
He looked down, heat in his blue eyes, smudges on his cheeks, blond hair damp and mussed, and stood up off the bed to remove the rest of his clothes. The jeans went first, then his boxers, and then he was on the bed with her, naked, nothing between them.
Just like they’d been before, but there was a different meaning now. This wasn’t just heat and passion. That was there, but there was also a sense that this was forever. This was their promise. This was a partnership of two people who were always going to work together to be the best they could for each other.
And to help the world as well.
She loved that he would be able to heal people the way he had her. And she loved that there was a tough side to him as well, one he was coming to accept and control.
He was a powerful being with heavy burdens, and she would be here by his side to watch him explore his gifts.
He lifted his head. “I wasn’t trying to read your thoughts, but they were so sweet.” He put a hand to her face, grazing her cheek. “But I’m going to help you, too. I’m going to take you to do everything you ever wanted, before you were injured. Anything in general. I’ll have a job in this world, but it doesn’t come before you. Because you’re the only reason I’m here.”
She flushed, unable to believe she’d made such a difference for this beautiful man.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close, looking down his long body at every delicious part. His wide chest, the little hairs running over tanned, gorgeous abs. His trim hips and muscular butt. The lines at each side of his hips that pointed down to the part of him she desperately wanted to feel inside her.
She wriggled against him, moist, ready, and he smiled and spread her legs farther, kneeling between them. With one smooth move, he was in, and she wrapped her legs around him to trap him.
Not that she needed to. She could tell by the tension in his body he was in just as much heaven as she was.
She held her breath and then let it out slowly as her body adjusted to the searing heat inside her, so hard, so filling. Making every nerve in her light up like fire, ready to go. Then he started moving, his eyes closing in effort for a moment as he got them started.
And then things were smoother, more comfortable, as they found their rhythm together, but no less heated. No less passionate.
His fiery blue eyes met hers and held, and she felt how beautiful she was reflected in his gaze.
She’d never expected to be loved like this, but now that she had it, she’d never let go.
As pressure built inside her, raising her higher and higher, she tucked her head in against him, holding on tight, ready to fall. When she tipped over the precipice into intense, resounding pleasure, he went with her, uttering her name as he held her tight, jerking within her, setting off more sensation inside her as he tensed and went even harder.
“Luc,” she uttered like an oath as she finally finished, feeling completely sated, her body radiating pleasure. Like she’d been soaked in it.
He grinned and leaned over her, putting them nose to nose as he rested on his forearms. “Yes, love?”
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard, sliding her tongue in to mesh with his, enjoying still having him inside her, at least for a few more seconds. “I love you. I really do.”
He nuzzled her nose. “I love you, too.”
Then he rolled out of her and curled up alongside her, hiding her in his arms, nuzzling the back of her neck. She could feel his huge body behind her and drew the sheets around them both.
Then she turned over so she could snuggle facing him, both of them on their sides.
“So,” she said, “tell me all about dragons.”
He grinned and happily obliged.
Epilogue
A couple weeks later, Luc and Hallie were visiting Erin and Zach, talking about how the house hunt was going and enjoying lunch.
Luc had brought Bastien over to see what he thought about Bo, but right now, the cats were currently hiding under separate pieces of furniture, trying to decide what they thought about one another.
When they heard a knock on the door, they all looked up warily.
Ever since the oracle had said she was sending a new dragon, they’d all been waiting with bated breath.
Zach squared his shoulders, taking a deep breath as he walked over the sparkling granite entryway to open the door. He took one last look over his shoulder at the rest of them and then swung it open.
Standing on the step, hands in pockets, looking as relaxed as you please, was Redmond Corinthian, the ruby dragon.
Dark-red hair, a rich, nearly purplish color that shimmered in the sun. Piercing green eyes in a catlike almond shape. Smooth skin. Tilted nose. High cheekbones.
A tall, muscular body. As per usual for the most sexual dragon on the planet, Ruby looked good.
Even Luc could admit it.
Zach, however, was less than pleased. He drew in a deep breath, then took a step back, then slammed the door shut in Red’s face.
Then he strode back to the rest of them, shaking h
is head. “I’m going to call the oracle right now. I’m telling her Sapphire was one thing. I’m not taking Ruby. He’s not staying in my house, with my mate.”
“I won’t seduce her!” called a pleasant voice from the porch.
“Who was that?” Erin asked, eyes wide.
“Oh my gosh, he was beautiful,” Hallie said.
Luc narrowed his eyes, and she flushed. “I mean, not as beautiful as you. I meant more objectively. Like a piece of art.” When Luc still didn’t look mollified, she pulled him close. “Oh, come here, you. You know you’re the only one I want.”
They snuggled, and Zach paced, letting out a sigh. “I’m going to send him right out on the street where he belongs.”
Erin put a hand on Zach’s. “Hey, come on. You’re a leader, like it or not, and you’re supposed to help the other dragons get used to this world.”
Zach muttered something unintelligible, but then his mate rose on her toes and kissed his cheek, stroking a hand through his hair, and he melted. “Fine. I’ll help him at least find a place to get settled. But that deviant isn’t staying anywhere within ten feet of you. Hear me?”
She giggled and nodded, looking over at Hallie. “So jealous.”
Hallie gazed up at Luc. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Onyx! Sapphire! Come out and let me meet your wenches! We can share!”
Zach’s face went pale, and he rolled up his sleeves, surely heading for the door to lay out a beatdown. Luc laughed as he grabbed the other man by the jacket, pulling him back.
“Calm down,” he said.
“You heard him,” Zach said.
“He isn’t from here,” Luc said. “We’ll teach him the rules.”
“Like that’ll do any good. That guy is wacko.”
Luc looked at the door. He didn’t know Red well. He knew some of his powers, and he knew he was renowned for his beauty and sexual prowess. He’d always thought those were odd dragon powers, but if the oracle sent him, that meant she thought there was something he could do for this world.
Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2) Page 13
